Mark Davis appears to be giving up hope of keeping Raiders in Oakland

LAS VEGAS, NV - APRIL 28: Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis arrives at a Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee meeting at UNLV on April 28, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Davis told the committee he is willing to spend USD 500,000 as part of a deal to move the team to Las Vegas if a proposed USD 1.3 billion, 65,000-seat domed stadium is built by casino magnate Sheldon Adelson's Las Vegas Sands Corp. and real estate agency Majestic Realty, possibly on a vacant 42-acre lot a few blocks east of the Las Vegas Strip recently purchased by UNLV. less

LAS VEGAS, NV - APRIL 28: Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis arrives at a Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee meeting at UNLV on April 28, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Davis told the committee he is willing to spend USD 500,000 as part of a deal to move the team to Las Vegas if a proposed USD 1.3 billion, 65,000-seat domed stadium is built by casino magnate Sheldon Adelson's Las Vegas Sands Corp. and real estate agency Majestic Realty, possibly on a vacant 42-acre lot a few blocks east of the Las Vegas Strip recently purchased by UNLV. less

During the course of the NFL meetings this week in Charlotte, it appears that Mark Davis is giving up hope of keeping his Oakland Raiders franchise in the Bay Area.

There have been no formal actions taken on a potential move or anything supporting Davis' growing relocation city of Las Vegas. But the discussion at the meetings appears to be pointing that Davis will seek to move his team to America's gaming mecca if he can obtain a suitable stadium deal.

The Los Angeles Times reports that "with little to no progress on a new stadium in Oakland," Davis has "turned his full attention to Las Vegas and said he'll move his team there if that city comes through with the financing help the (Raiders') franchise has been promised.

Davis said that he prefers Las Vegas as his ultimate relocation location.

"I've given my commitment to Las Vegas, and if they can come through with what they’re talking about doing, then we’ll go to Las Vegas."

"I’m excited about it. [Las Vegas] has the potential to be a really exciting market," Davis said. "The Raider fans in Northern California get upset a little bit when we talk about going to Los Angeles, and the L.A. fans get a little ticked off at the fans in Northern California, so it seems like Las Vegas is a neutral site that everybody’s kind of bought into. It will unite the Raider nation more than divide it"

The NFL Network reported on its "Total Access" show that the Raiders moving to Las Vegas is becoming viewed as a "realistic option" because owners believe Davis has "exhausted the possibilities in Oakland." There is growing sentiment that Davis has worked in setting the foundation for a new stadium in Las Vegas and it's something that the NFL owners and office want to happen.

"I'm more curious to find out whether the market is deep enough to support a team." Mara told ESPN.com. "(Owners) would want to know what the stadium proposal looks like, would want to see projections for ticket sales, seat licenses, luxury suites, etc. All of these are things that "haven't even been studied yet in a market that has no professional sports team."

Philadelphia owner Jeffrey Lurie also has some skepticism about Las Vegas as a potential location.

"What everybody would want to know is, would this be a great NFL market? We have to find out whether it's a viable market," Lurie told ESPN.com.

But with no real mobilization for a proposal, it appears that Davis' most realistic option is in Las Vegas -- as amazing as that would have seemed six months ago.